Friday, June 12, 2009

As a teenager I came to England and started school in country where everything was alien to me, fellow pupils asked me my name. On telling them they would give you look of bewilderment and would come out with comments like “What sort of a name is that?” Anything that is unfamiliar to you sounds odd. Now that I have lived here most of my life people still struggle to pronounce my name correctly. Some of the names I came across are a real mystery to me. Others English names like Smith, Barber, Mason, etc are easy give away as to why people acquired such name in history. Name tells you great deal about your ancestral roots. Some combinations of first and last name are really amusing. Here are a few examples:Robin Banks, Rubina Coldrink, Rosy Bottoms Few last names: Coward, Drinkwater, Mota (means Fat), Church, Mulla, Priest, Slaughter, Booze.Remarkable duos in the marriage records included Nicholas Bone and Priscilla Skin, joined in wedlock in 1636; Charles Swine and Jane Ham in 1711; John Mutton and Ann Veale in 1791, and Richard Dinner and Mary Cook in 1802. Mike Hunt (Say this quickly and you could land yourself in hot water.)Bend Dover (again say this quickly and you could land yourself in hot water.)There was a tree surgeon whose name was Woody Forest.British teacher Gillian Gibbons was jailed for 15 days after insulting Islam's Prophet by allowing her pupils in Sudan to name a teddy bear Muhammad.So whoever coined the phrase “what’s in a name” was not on the ball. There is definitely something in every name.